I’m starting to explore grants as a funding option.
My labmate Stuart has won several grants, so I asked him where I might start my search. Stuart says:
SBIR is probably the most accessible program. this site indexes the different agencies.
your stuff will have to fit into one of the topics of a solicitation though. this isnt the kind of thing you can do as an individual either. your company has to be registered with d&b and on the gov’t contractor database at ccr.gov.
I’ve won 2 of these through nasa, both times i proposed with a team of 3 or 4 people who’ve done substantial prior work for nasa. a proposal usually takes 100-150 man hours to put together.
I’m sure there are other routes but sbir is definitely the most straightforward.
In the meantime, if you find this entertaining:
Prometheus Fusion Perfection 
Ever thought of setting up a paypal button? Probably wouldn’t provide all the funding you need but it might help with some of the smaller stuff.
I got as far as a donate button on the repository:
http://github.com/famulus/decawell/tree/master
I haven’t figured how to add that button on wordpress.com (which doesn’t support plugins I discovered yesterday)
Done. I added a pledgie donate link on right sidebar.
It looks like, to do PayPal, you need to install the AdSense Deluxe WordPress plugin, then instert the button code into the AdSense block. A bit convoluted.
Long shots, but:
http://www.energy.ca.gov/research/innovations/index.html
http://www.dodsbir.net/solicitation/default.htm